Education Stifles Creativity

When I started teaching this concept in a dream building workshop, I had no idea how many websites supported this concept.

Studies show that by the age of 5, children use 80% of their creative capacity!  Yes, 80%!  By the age of 12, young people use 2%!  Not much creativity, huh?  Most people live the rest of their lives only using 2% of their creative capacity. 

So what happened between age 5 and age 12?  Education!

Education is necessary for everyone to succeed in life.  At the same time, we must not let education destroy our ability to be imaginative and spontaneous!  Our education system teaches us how to be conformists!  We are taught that we must speak or act a certain way to be acceptable in society.

If you are taught what to do and how to do it, how creative can you be?  There is not much room for expressing your personality in that plan.

I totally bought into this whole process when I was young.  I was class president my junior and senior years in high school.  I was also Student Council President and Salutatorian.  I graduated from Oklahoma State University in 3.5 years with a double-major in Business Management and Business Administration.  I climbed the corporate ladder over a 30-year career.  I have been happily married for over 36 years, with 3 children, the typical middle class, American family.

But then I became part of the #1 Company in network marketing.  I started seeing many young couples who taught dream building workshops and how we need to write goals and read them daily.  Their success spoke for itself.  They were living the life they were promoting, so I finally told my analytical self, "Shut up and listen!"  I started writing goals, even a movie script, and reading them daily, and it has been totally life changing.  Below is a picture of my work truck today.

Now I am the non-conformist in my neighborhood!

I'm not afraid to be different.  My wife has always had a promoter personality, but it has been a transformation for me.  But, I was able to leave Corporate America at age 53, so it has been so worth it!

You must take action to make your dreams a reality!

Why Stick With USANA?

USANA was started in 1992 and is publicly traded on NASDAQ (symbol USNA).  All of their financial statements are published online at www.usanahealthsciences.com.  I want to be part of a company that is an "open book" company.

USANA is financially 'rock solid' and has a 50-year business plan in place.  My business is willable to my children and their children, or anyone I choose.

FHTM (Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing) is a hot network marketing company in Central Texas right now.  I have been approached by several of their associates this year.  The #1 thing they claim is that FHTM pays out over 90% of their sales revenue to the associates.  Folks, do the math!  A major Corporation can't survive on less than 10% of their sales revenues, if that is their only source of income.

FHTM associates have told me that publicly-held corporations are bad.  The Enrons, Arthur Andersens, and other corrupt corporations were all bad because they were publicly traded.  How stupid does that sound!  FHTM is a privately-held company, meaning that they do not have to disclose any of their financials to the public and therefore, they can make all kinds of claims about payout percentages, but will never provide any solid evidence to back their claims.  Are publicly traded companies all bad?  Absolutely not!  Isn't it interesting that the companies that FHTM represents are publicly-held corporations, i.e., Dish Network, AT&T, Sprint, GE, etc.?  They broker the services of these companies. 

USANA states on the front page of their website, "Highest Payout Percentage for Profitable, Reporting Companies in the Industry."  USANA is very conservative in their computations and will only state this if they can prove it.  And, the USANA payout is greater than 50 percent.  The network marketing industry is full of claims, but there are few companies that publish their complete financials on the web like USANA Health Sciences.

People get sucked into these claims (over 90% payout, etc.) and trust the marketing hype published by their company.  Here is a quote from KENS5.COM, "At least two attorneys general got wise to it all: South Dakota and Montana's top law officials have filed suit against the company for its deceptive practices."  You can watch a video and read the story by clicking on the KENS5 link above.

So, if an FHTM associate attempts to recruit you, ask them these 3 questions.

1. Where is the documentation that FHTM pays out over 90% revenues to their associates?
2. If publicly-held corporations are so bad, why do you market the products of some many publicly-traded companies?
3. If I quit recruiting people, can I live on my residual?

Then, consider 'residual income' potential.  With USANA, you can start with a 20% commission rate with 3-business centers.  Your residual in USANA is based on the number of autoships in your organization.  FHTM raised their commission rate to 1.5% this year, so they are not about residual income.  Their main income comes from recruiting people.  A person pays $300 for their business system binder.  That $300 is largely distributed to the sponsor and their managers.  If it is deemed to be a legit company and you want a company that will allow you to walk away in a few years, yet maintain a huge residual income, then FHTM is not the company for you.  You can only make big money as long as people are signing recruits.

One of the statements that was used when I heard the presentation was, "It only makes sense that you would signup with FHTM.  You already use a cell phone and cable or dish TV, so why not get paid for the services you use."  The problem with that logic is that at 1.5% commission, on a $300 monthly bill, you make $4.50.  You would have to have $100,000 per month of services to make $1,500 per month residual income.

Hopefully this information will better arm you to discuss FHTM in the future!

Stick with USANA and share it with everyone!  You too can have a large residual income that is willable!

Dream Big and Live Your Dreams!

USANA International Convention

This is an exciting week for me.  The USANA Int'l Convention has been voted the #1 Corporate live event in the US for the last 2 years.  Can't wait to see what new products will be introduced and business changes.  I'm excited to learn more about the new presentation DVD that will help new business partners a great deal.

For me, it's always exciting to hear Dr. Wentz and Denis Waitley speak.  I want to take in every opportunity to do so, because we never know how many more we will have.  It's a great time to reconnect with team members from all over that we don't get to see on a regular basis, although our time is way too limited.  Reconnecting with cross-line USANA associates from New Zealand, England and across the US is always great.  We have built a lot of great relationships through USANA over the years.

I'm really glad to see that USANA will be recording a lot of the events so that associates who can't make the event can see a lot of it online.  This will be the first year for that.

I plan to provide some updates this week, but they will be limited.  I'll be back on a regular basis next week.

Do You Have Any Bad Food Habits?

I do!  I love ice cream in particular, but I love all kinds of desserts.  When I went to Sanoviv, I learned that cancer feeds off of sugar.  I definitely had to cut back, but I'm not strong enough to say "No more desserts!" 

Sanoviv teaches you that your diet should consist mostly of raw fruits and vegetables, at least 50% and more like 60% to 70% of your diet.  I have to confess.  For 2 years afterwards, I did really good with my diet, but I have reached the point that salad just doesn't sound good.  What we do eat a lot of fresh pico de gallo.  We make it fresh on a weekly basis and I eat it with avocados, chips, etc.

A Sanoviv nutritionist gave me a goal and it went like this.  We have 21 meals a week.  If you can eat good, raw foods and low glycemic foods, for 15 - 16 of those meals, you have done well.  When it's broken down like that, it's not so bad.

When it comes to desserts, I try to limit them to weekends.  Before, I had ice cream almost every night of the week.  And, I can tell you that the USANA Reset package really helps you in cutting the carbs and sugar cravings.  After a week on the Reset, I didn't want any sweets, which is a good thing.

The problem is that I stay beat up and bruised, because I keep falling off the cart!  We just have to do the best we can and try to improve our habits a little at a time!

Have a great weekend!

Do You Have Value?

I'm asking about your personal opinion about yourself.  Don't answer this according to how you believe others would answer the question about you.  Be honest.  How is your self esteem?

Which one of the following statements best describe you?

1. I can go out and conquer anything I decide I want to do!
2. I don't think anyone would really miss me if I were gone.
3. I know I have some value, but I don't know who would benefit from me.
4. I would be a valuable asset as a team member, maybe not the leader, but a contributor.

If you answered #1, that's great.  You believe in yourself and you have the confidence to take on anything.  My only encouragement would be, is never be so confident that you become unteachable.  We don't know everything and we can always learn something knew.  If others see you as obnoxious or arrogant, maybe you should tone down your attitude and approach.  Appearing to be arrogant can be a huge deterrent to your success.

If your answer was #2, then we have a lot of work to do to build up your self esteem.  You must learn to respect yourself.  Because of that, you probably don't take many chances.  You don't step out of your comfort zone, and you are only comfortable around your family and very close friends.  If you are not comfortable around your family, then search to understand the underlying problem.  Be honest with yourself and if there is an abusive situation, then be brave enough to contact someone that can help you approach the abuser and begin to enjoy life.  No one should have to suffer abuse from a spouse or partner.  I'm not here to give marital relationship advice, but abuse is not right in any personal relationshp.

If you answered #3, then you have some work to do to build your confidence and to acknowledge that you do provide great value in relationships and certain social environments.  Be proud of the your strengths and understand that your contributions are needed.  It's always nice to feel needed and wanted by others. 

#4 is a good place to be.  If you only want to be a team member and not the leader, there is nothing wrong with that.  A team always needs players who contribute, but are willing to let others lead them.  You may grow into a leader role, but if you don't, there's no shame in that.

When others compliment you or your actions, accept that praise and understand that they appreciate your added value.  Celebrate the small things in life!  Don't minimize the role that you play in the life of others.

What Do You Say?

We have all known someone who just lost a loved one, or someone who was just diagnosed with cancer or another life-altering disease.  Did you find yourself wanting to express your compassion for them, but you just were not sure what to say?  We have had several situations in which people have responded to our losses or diagnoses.  For us, no response was wrong.  Maybe you just give the person a hug and let them know you care for them.  It could be showing up at their home with food or sending a card.

When it came to my cancer first diagnosis, I was just fine with someone using the word cancer.  There are always those who are in denial after receiving the bad diagnosis and don't want to discuss it, but I would encourage you to express your concern and support.  Let them know that you will be there when they need someone to help or listen.

I find myself  unsure of what to say to someone at times. Plus, I am an emotional person and I don't want to show a lot of emotion when I approach someone, because I don't want to cause them to get emotional.  Most likely, they are in that phase or have been.  In those case when I am emotional, I don't say a lot.  I simply say "I'm very sorry for your loss", or "Call me if I you need anything" or simply give them a hug.  Once you say something, then it opens the door for more conversation.  

The "Feel, Felt, Found" approach may be something you use.  It goes something like this--I know how you feel.  My brother was recently diagnosed with cancer and he felt there was little hope in having a long future, but what we found has that by discussing a positive result from treatments, he found hope in moving forward.

Everyone needs to know that people are there for support, whether they want to admit it, or not.  When others show that they are concerned about us, then we feel blessed to have those kinds of friends.  Let people know that you care and don't worry about how your words come out.  The important thing is to be sincere and your intent will come through.

Be A Good Listener

In order to be a true friend to someone, you must be a good listener.  All of the conversations can't be about you.  Rather, you must be willing to listen to that person and understand their perspectives.  If the relationship is all about you, then the other person will grow weary and feel unimportant at some point.

Everything your friend does is probably NOT going to be exciting or interesting for you, but that's where compromise is important.  The same thing applies concerning you.  Some of things you do are not really important to your friend, but a true friend will  be there for you to share your experiences and hear what you like.

I like watching Major League Baseball games on television, but I also know that a lot of people are 'bored to death' watching it.  Some people like to collect all kinds of frog figurines.  That doesn't interest me in the least, but if I have a friend who collects frogs, I'm going to be thinking about that person when I see a unique frog figurine and I may buy it for them if I know they don't have that one.  You should do things, because you care about that person, whether or not, you have the same likes or dislikes.

You MUST know the NEEDS of a person before you can help them.  You must listen to people to understand what needs they have.  Let's say that I have a friend who doesn't like baseball at all.  If I gave them 4 tickets to see the Yankees and Rangers play, would that really be a good gift?  Only if they could sell the tickets and make some money.  Your gift must be something that they enjoy in order for it to fulfill a need.  If your friend is needing to feel accepted and you tell them, "Just do it and don't worry about what people think," have you made them feel any better?  Absolutely NOT!  You need to reassure them that people are going to find them interesting, or give them ideas on how to be accepted.

When you are in the middle of conversation, stop and listen to what the other person is saying.  Don't just sit there, waiting to tell them what you want to say, not caring about what they have to say.  Your response needs to show that you heard what they had to say and you either what to confirm that, or voice an alternative view.  This applies to conversations between friends or business partners; between a parent and child; between a teacher and student, or between a manager and an employee.

Your relationships will be greatly improved when you are a good listener!